The Joint West Campus Area Committee met Tuesday night to discuss the renovation of the 1300 block of University Avenue.
The block is home to several university facilities including the Psychology building.
Under the development plan, a new 750,000-square-foot facility will be built to house an interdepartmental research facility.
The projected cost of the building, including inflation, is an estimated $375 million.
Funding will come from private donations, grants and state money, but how much money each source will contribute is a question yet to be answered.
\There are as many researchers in Madison as construction workers,"" said Al Fish, director of UW-Madison Facilities, Planning and Management. ""It's a major part of our economy and this university.""
The fine-tuning of the design is only beginning of many things to consider, including relocation issues for UW-Madison classes.
""The tentative plan would be to move Physics into Chamberlin, which is near completion, and move Psychology into Sterling. There is a request in to the state to carry this out,"" Fish said.
There will also be buildings built over what is now Lot 51, located on Mills Street.
Committee members raised issues of security in relation to parking facilities and the potential for car bombs.
Others, including committee member Ken Golden, felt the traffic congestion itself is an issue.
""Already you have stacking problems and poor bike lanes in the area,"" Golden said.
Despite the minor details yet to be etched out, committee members were impressed with the concept of the building.
""I was impressed with the conference rooms aspect,"" committee member Mark Shatan said. ""If you have an interdepartmental facility, you need places to meet. I applaud that.""
The committee said the 1300 block of University Avenue is poorly used, and this facility will put its ideal location to good use.
""This facility has been in our master plan for 12 years, and now we're following through,"" Fish said.
The projected completion of the facility is 2015.
